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Daytona International Speedway
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Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home to the most important race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Daytona 500. Today the facility has a seating capacity of almost 168,000 spectators. It hosts races of motor vehicles of various kinds, including go-karts, motorcycles (on and off road), sports cars, modified pickup trucks, and stock cars. The track features multiple layouts including a high speed tri-oval, a sports car course, and a motorcycle course.
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Encyclopedia
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home to the most important race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Daytona 500. Today the facility has a seating capacity of almost 168,000 spectators. It hosts races of motor vehicles of various kinds, including go-karts, motorcycles (on and off road), sports cars, modified pickup trucks, and stock cars. The track features multiple layouts including a high speed tri-oval, a sports car course, and a motorcycle course. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The facility is also used for an annual spring car show and swap meet, and a Thanksgiving street rod meet, some of the largest of their kind, and various races around the track, as there have been three different layouts. In 2008, the city of Daytona Beach ran its first half marathon, utilizing the track as the start and finish line, around the Daytona 500 Experience, and Bethune-Cookman University.
Daytona's warm climate lends itself to hosting the unofficial start of the racing year with Speedweeks and the 24 Hours of Daytona race in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Then the racing begins for the Sprint Cup Series with the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel. The ARCA RE/MAX Series Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 is held the same day as the Budweiser Shootout, a few hours prior to the Shootout. The Camping World Truck Series begins with the NextEra Energy Resources 250. The Nationwide Series begins with the Camping World 300 and then it is back to the Sprint Cup in "The Great American Race", the Daytona 500. The Sprint Cup Series also features the Coke Zero 400 in July at Daytona. It also contains an attraction called the Daytona 500 Experience. The winning car from the Daytona 500 is placed inside the attraction building each year.
Course history
Construction
NASCAR was founded by William France Sr. and a small group of fellow race promoters at Daytona Beach, Florida in 1947. The original premiere event in the series was held at the Daytona Beach Road Course. France began planning a new track for the premiere event in his fledgling series in 1953. On August 16 1954 he signed a contract with city officials to create this new track that would become famous as the Daytona International Speedway. Ground was broken on November 25th, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track, and the large hole in the infield filled with water from the high water table and is now known as Lake Lloyd. France wanted fans to have an optimal view of the cars traveling through the turns, so had the banking constructed as steeply as possible (31-degrees being the steepest grade asphalt could be laid with 1950's technology).
The track was almost not complete for that first race date, however. In 1958, needing more money to meet his goal, France traveled to Atlanta to meet with the Coca-Cola company to hopefully get funding to complete construction. Coca-Cola officials told him he would never finish it on time and refused to fund it. France then went to the Pepsi-Cola company, then headquartered in North Carolina, and they cut him a check on the spot. Because of this Pepsi, and not Coca-Cola, would come to be sold at all NASCAR Tracks that the France family owned, until 2008, when Pepsico changed its focus to mainly sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports. Coca-Cola has sided with most independent tracks, and rival Speedway Motorsports most notably, but there is an International Speedway Corporation transition with Coca-Cola that started with the 2008 Daytona 500 and continues with most ISC tracks, as Coca-Cola and NASCAR signed an official product deal starting in 1998, and was renewed until 2017. The new ten-year deal that started in 2008 will also phase in Coca-Cola pouring rights to most ISC tracks.
The speedway opened on February 22, 1959 to a crowd of 41,000 people. When the track opened it was the fastest race track to ever host a stock car race. There was no wall between the track and Lake Lloyd. Driver Tom Pistone became famous for keeping a life jacket and oxygen tank in his car because he could not swim and feared crashing into the lake.
Tri-oval
Daytona's tri-oval measures 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) long with 31° banking in the turns and 18° banking at the start/finish line. The front straightaway is long and the back straightaway (or "superstretch") is long. The tri-oval shape, was revolutionary at the time as it greatly improved sight lines. The shape was also necessary to fit the track onto the land that Bill France Sr. could afford.
The Daytona 500, the most important race for NASCAR's premier series, is held annually at Daytona International Speedway. It is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) stock car race. The list of Daytona 500 winners dates back to the inaugural race in 1959, and includes Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, and Dale Earnhardt.
NASCAR, the premier stock car organization in the United States, holds some of its most important races on this track. These include competitions in its Camping World Truck Series (where pickup trucks are raced), Nationwide Series (the stock car junior league), and Sprint Cup Series.
Lights were installed in 1998 so that the Pepsi 400 could be held at night. Musco Lighting was responsible for this event; and was officially known as "The World's Largest Single Lighted Outdoor Sports Facility" before being surpassed by Losail International Circuit. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires that summer. The Pepsi 400 is now called the Coke Zero 400 and has been held under lights ever since.
It is one of the two tracks on the Sprint Cup Series circuit that uses restrictor plates to slow the cars down due to the high speeds, the other being Talladega Superspeedway. However, there are some differences in the racing at the two tracks, as Daytona is narrower and more handling-oriented than Talladega, which allows the huge packs to break up somewhat on long runs, which makes "the Big One" that plate tracks are famous for less frequent and usually on a start or restart, as opposed to Talladega, where such huge wrecks occurs in almost every race in almost any situation.
Over the years, the track asphalt has worn. During Sprint Cup testing in January 2008 and during the Budweiser Shootout in 2009, drivers complained about the grip of the track and the cracks and bumps on the surface. Having not been repaved since 1978, Daytona International Speedway is expected to be repaved by 2013.
Road courses
The road course was built in 1962 to host a three hour sports car race called the Daytona Continental. Eventually the race was extended to a 24-hour endurance race known as the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. While the more famous 24 Hours of Le Mans is held near the summer solstice, Daytona's endurace race is held in winter (meaning that more of the race is run at night). The track's lighting system is limited to 20% of its maximum output for the race to keep cars dependent on their headlights.
In 2005, a second infield road course configuration was constructed, primarily for motorcycles. Due to fears of tire wear on the banked oval sections, oval turns 1 and 2 were bypassed. The course is also used for IndyCar testing.
Supercross
As part of Daytona Beach Bike Week, a supercross track is built between pit road and the tri-oval section of the track. Historically the track has used more sand than dirt providing unique challenges to riders. The 2008 and 2009 tracks are designed by former champion, Ricky Carmichael.
Indy Racing League
On September 26 and 27, 2006, the IRL held a compatibility test on the 10-turn, modified road course, and the 12-turn motorcycle road course (the IRL also uses the motorcycle layout at Infineon Raceway for safety) with 5 drivers. The drivers who tested at the track were Vitor Meira, 2006 Indy 500 Champion Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, and 2005 Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon. This marked the first time since 1959 that IndyCars and the first time since 1984 that open wheel cars have taken to the track at Daytona.
On January 31-February 1, 2007, the Indy Racing League returned for a full test involving 17 cars. No official announcements were made, but the series was reportedly considering the ultimate goal of having a race in the future. No official plans for a race have since been made. In 2009 DIS President Robin Braig stated that a race may happen after the Daytona track is repaved in the future as the current bumpy state of the track causes safety problems for the low-slung IndyCars. .
Deaths at the speedway
Many notable drivers and participants, including Dale Earnhardt, have been fatally injured during auto, motorcycle, and powerboat racing events at the Daytona International Speedway. These deaths have been the focus of widespread media attention and many safety studies, leading to the development of more effective racing seats, seatbelts, helmet restraint systems, energy-absorbing walls, and other safety-related gear.
See List of Daytona International Speedway fatalities.
Records
| Record | Year | Date | Driver | Car Make | Time | Average Speed
(mph) |
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| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | | Qualifying | 1987 | February 9 | Bill Elliott | Ford | 42.783 | 210.364 | | Race (500 miles) | 1980 | February 17 | Buddy Baker | Oldsmobile | 2:48:55 | 177.602 | | Race (400 miles) | 1980 | July 4 | Bobby Allison | Oldsmobile | 2:18:21 | 173.473 | | Race (250 miles) | 1961 | July 4 | David Pearson | Pontiac | 1:37:13 | 154.294 | | NASCAR Nationwide Series | | Qualifying | 1987 | | Tommy Houston | Buick | 46.299 | 194.389 | | Race (300 miles) | 1985 | February 16 | Geoff Bodine | Pontiac | 1:54:33 | 157.137 | | Race (250 miles) | 2003 | July 4 | | Chevrolet | 1:37:35 | 153.715 | | NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | | Qualifying | 2000 | | Joe Ruttman | Dodge | 47.984 | 187.563 | | Race (250 miles) | 2006 | February 17 | Mark Martin | Ford | 1:42:18 | 146.622 |
Photos
External links
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